Our CIS community includes more than 1400 schools and universities, representing 122 countries.
As a global non-profit membership organization, CIS provides services to primary and secondary schools, higher education institutions and individuals that share these ideals:
a desire to provide students with the knowledge, skills and abilities to pursue their lives as global citizens; and
a commitment to high quality international education.
To achieve this goal, our members must infuse their programmes and offerings with international and intercultural perspective so that students can move forward with the attitudes and understanding that will provide them with a solid base wherever their studies or work may take them. Primary and secondary school members must further commit to undertaking an ongoing external quality assurance process to enhance student learning.
CIS is a membership community working collaboratively to shape international education through professional services to schools, higher education institutions, and individuals. The CIS vision is to inspire the development of global citizens through high quality international education: connecting ideas, cultures, and educators from every corner of the world.
We draw on our collective knowledge and experience to guide others. Together we achieve more. We inspire each other to expand our minds and perspectives, always striving to explore new ideas and innovations that enable us to act progressively and meaningfully.
We keep an open mind to new perspectives and look ahead to gain new insights. Our natural curiosity challenges routine thinking and keeps us focused on growth and development.
Our guiding principles are based on our definition of global citizenship. These principles form a solid foundation that inspires and challenges our members to actively promote international education and intercultural perspectives.
We embrace ideas, cultures, and connections from every corner of the world making different views and opinions a source of inspiration that enrich every member of our community.
Global citizenship is at the center of everything we do at CIS. Its key elements emerged in 2009 via a series of consultations with CIS stakeholders worldwide as we envisioned tangible outcomes for international education. To deepen our understanding of global citizenship in today’s world, new research was completed in 2021 exploring current practices across the CIS global community of schools.
Our new research-based model of global citizenship and intercultural learning unpacks their hidden complexities, addressing difference more specifically. This relevant new model and its underlying developmental continua (rubrics) of thinking and practice are now being shared across the CIS membership community, focusing on four aspects of school life: Teaching & learning; Assessment; Leadership and staff development; and Community engagement.
Through our work with hundreds of schools and universities around the world, CIS has developed the following understanding of global citizenship.
CIS members have committed to actively develop global citizenship in education through...
research about, discussion of, and action related to issues of principle of personal, local, and global importance,
the understanding of and respect for the similarities and differences of a range of individuals and peoples,
the understanding of multiple perspectives of local and global events and issues,
the development of fluency in multiple languages, including mother tongues, used to communicate within and across cultures,
the development of the understandings, skills and dispositions to serve the local and global community through engagement in meaningful service learning,
the acquisition and refinement of the skills of leading and following within different cultural contexts, and
a personal commitment to a lifestyle which supports local and global sustainability displayed through example and advocacy.